Experiment HY23C
by Amentet
Summary: It was a scientific breakthrough: Experiment HY-23C. Is a simple lab specimen worthy of life? Of family? Of love?
1. Building A Better Future

**Author's Note: Tremendous apologies that this is not a new chapter to my other horribly neglected stories. Major writer's block! I'm hoping this little "experiment" helps.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the awesomely amazing Predator franchise. I know it. You know it. Let's move on, shall we? Excellent! Please proceed.**

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Experiment HY-23C

Prologue: "Building a Better Future"

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**Weyland Genome Laboratory: Earth 2010**

"Oh, God, it hurts!" The laboring woman clutched her bulging abdomen as another powerful contraction ripped through her body leaving her breathless. Her legs, held fast in the cold, surgical-steel stirrups, trembled uncontrollably against the pain that washed over her. The contractions were coming harder and faster now, as the doctor had told her they would when he had administered the Pitocin into her IV line to help expedite her labor. With the help of the medicinal stimulation, the life she had voluntarily incubated for the last 11 ½ months now seemed very eager to be free of its constrictive confines within her body.

"I know it hurts, Lieutenant," the staff physician reassured the woman as much as he could with a comforting pat on her exposed thigh. "I'm very sorry that I can't give you anything to lessen your discomfort. We can't risk any potential harm to the fetus, you understand."

The woman nodded in answer, "I underst-AHH!"

"Another one? Breathe through it. That's right. Breathe in deep through the nose out through the mouth. Good, Lieutenant. Very good," the doctor coached her until the contraction passed. He nodded to one of the labor and delivery nurses that stood by watching. "It won't be long now. The fetus has moved into position and she's almost fully dilated. Get the neonatal team in here and set up ASAP. Call Commander Knox and let his team know we're about ready to push. We're going to need someone in here to take custody of the specimen if it's deemed viable upon delivery."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse hurried to the wall phone to make the necessary arrangements.

"Please, the pressure is too much. I need to push…aghhhh!" The woman panted as her entire abdomen seized forcefully in an attempt to expel its squirming contents.

"I know, Lieutenant," The doctor focused his attention back onto his patient. "I need you to fight the urge. Hold on just a little while longer."

"Doctor," the nurse reclaimed her position at the doctor's side. "The team is on its way."

"Excellent." The doctor thanked the nurse and gave his patient another calming pat. "Did you hear that, Lieutenant? They'll be here shortly and then you can push. We're going to have a baby very soon."

"No…" the woman shook her head. Her dark blond hair was stuck with sweat to her forehead as another contraction threatened to overwhelm her. "It's not a…not a baby. It's a…ahhh! It's a…they made a monster."

"Lieutenant Seville…" The doctor looked helplessly towards his nurse, unsure of how to respond to the woman's statement. He couldn't exactly refute her claim. Even he was unsure as to what, exactly, the woman before him was in the process of birthing. He was only there to deliver the experiment safely. However, as a staff physician at Weyland Industries' Genome Laboratory, he was more than aware of the highly classified military experiments being conducted in the area of hybridization.

"Doctor Kirchberg." The doctor's thoughts were interrupted by the masked and gowned neonatal team rolling their incubator and containment equipment into the room. "We're ready when you are. Knox and his men are in the observation chamber."

Doctor Kirchberg spared a fleeting glance toward the reflective, two-way mirror that made up one wall of the birthing suite and gave a nod of recognition to the combined Weyland and military research unit he could not see but was assured were there. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the task at hand and settled himself between the laboring woman's legs. "Alright Lieutenant, when you feel the next contracting coming, I want you to take a deep breath and bear down as hard as you can."

The woman nodded her understanding. "I-I feel another one…AHHHH!" Grabbing her knees in a death grip, Lieutenant Seville nearly bent herself double with her efforts to separate that which was inside her from herself.

"That's right. Good job," the doctor encouraged. "Push, push, push! You're doing fantastic!"

"Oh my God…" Seville panted as the urge to push passed. No sooner had she caught her breath, another contraction slammed into her full force. "GAHHHH!"

"Bear down! Bear down! The head is crowning!" Dr. Kirchberg turned to his nurse. "Grab some towels and a bulb syringe.

"Yes, doctor." The nurse reappeared only seconds later with both requested items.

"OK, Lieutenant, another big push."

"Oh, GAWHHHHHHD…" Lieutenant Seville felt the painful stretch as the fetus moved through the birth canal. It felt as though someone had poured gasoline on her most intimate parts and set it on fire. "Please, get it out!"

"It's coming, Lieutenant, it's coming," the doctor encouraged. No sooner had he spoke the words, the head emerged from its tight confines. "I've got the head! Nurse, get me suction. Lieutenant, I need you to keep pushing. We're not done yet."

"Oh…" The nurse made a small sound as she stared in wonder at the small, blood and vernix covered face in wonderment. "It looks so…"

"Nurse!" The doctor snapped at the woman. "Suction! Now!"

"Oh! Yes, doctor!" the nurse quickly handed the man the bulb syringe which he used to quickly clear the infant's nose and mouth of mucus and amniotic fluid.

"One more big push should do it, Lieutenant. You're doing so well," Dr. Kirchberg coached. True to his prediction, another painful push on the Lieutenant's part found his gloved hands full of squealing, newborn life. A relieved smile tugged at his mouth hidden behind his surgical mask. They had done it. They had actually carried a specimen to term and delivered it alive. More out of habit than anything else, he addressed the would-be mother as if she truly had a reason to care about the outcome of her endeavor. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. You did wonderfully. You've done your country an invaluable service. It's a girl, by the way. Visually, she looks healthy as far as I can tell. Good muscle tone and reflexes. She has a strong pulse and a good set of lungs. Towel, please."

The nurse quickly grabbed a towel out of the bedside warmer and gave it to the doctor who wrapped it around the infant. Accepting the swaddled bundle, she cooed soothingly to the gurgling baby while the doctor cut the umbilical cord and prepared to deliver the afterbirth. She smiled at the woman who now lay passively in the hospital bed. "Lieutenant, would you like to hold her for a moment before the research team comes to claim her?"

"No. Just…" Lieutenant Seville closed her eyes and turned her head away. "Just get it out of here. I've done my part. I carried that thing around inside of me for the better part of a year. I don't want anything else to do with it."

The nurse looked from the child to its mother. "You don't even want to see your baby?"

The woman scoffed. "That thing isn't my baby. It's a lab specimen. Send it to the lab where it belongs."

"Shhh…its ok." The nurse cuddled the bundled-up infant tighter when it began to fuss a bit. "You're still her mother…"

"I am NOT its mother!" The woman's eyes snapped open and she sat forward abruptly to glare at the nurse. "That thing may share part of my genetic makeup but it is NOT my child! If you want it to bond with something, why don't you take it down to the subbasement and see if the monster they have locked up down there wants anything to do with its offspring."

"But…" The nurse wanted to argue with the woman but was interrupted by Dr. Kirchberg's reprimand.

"Nurse, she said no. Pass it off to the neonatal team and help me prepare the Lieutenant for transfer to recovery." The doctor looked pointedly at his assistant. "Now."

Hesitantly, the nurse nodded. "Yes, doctor." With a lump in her throat, she watched as the Head Neonatologist placed the infant into a sealed incubator and wheeled it from the room. She would never know what would become of the baby she had cuddled for those brief moments and it would always be something that she wondered about before she fell asleep at night with her own children nestled snugly in their beds right down the hall from where she lay. All she could do was say a little prayer each and every night and hope that someone somewhere was caring for the child as all children deserve to be.

To Be Continued…


	2. More Human Than Human

**Author's Note: Hello, friends! I am actually updating! To top it off, it's a long chapter! I mean, really long! I'm so proud of myself right now! First, before I do anything else, I'd like to give major thanks to all of you who read the last chapter and left me a review. I love you guys and it really encourages me to know that you enjoy my writing! Secondly, I would like to address the status of my other story, 'Catch and Release'. I know a lot of you have been reviewing and PMing me asking when I am going to update. I'd just like to reassure you that I haven't abandoned the story. It's been really, and I do mean really, slow going due to that horrible affliction known as Writer's Block. Don't despair, though. I will get it completed come Hell or high water…eventually. **

**FYI…in this chapter there will be **_**flashbacks**_**. **_**Flashbacks**_** will be written in **_**italics **_**and separated from the rest of the story by XXXXXXXXXX for those who have difficulty in distinguishing the different type when it's all grouped together (like me).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Predator. I only claim my own characters and this sad, little plot.**

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Experiment HY-23C

Chapter 1: "More Human than Human"

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**Weyland-Yutani Genome Laboratory: Earth, 2030 AD**

Doctor Sidney Lueger sat slightly apart from the group of assembled academics, Colonial Marine brass and Weyland-Yutani research staff. This wasn't anywhere he particularly wanted to be. In fact, he found the entire situation absolutely disgusting when it came right down to it. More than anything, he was disgusted with himself for even being a part of the setup to begin with. How his professional career had veered so far off track, he had no clue. He was, or at least he had been before he had been approached by a Weyland-Yutani representative 15 years ago promising him the chance of a lifetime, a very prominent and highly respected child psychiatrist.

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_"We're hoping you may be able to help us devise a better way to handle her. Our staff physicians are at a loss as to what's causing her volatile behavior. Our attempts at behavior modification have had little to no success. We have begun to employ ECT with few positive effects. You're supposed to be the best in your field. Maybe you'd care to give the case file a look and make a few suggestions?" _

"_Good God," Sidney had looked at the man in horror. "You're using electroconvulsive therapy? She's a little girl for Christ's sake."_

"_Yes, but you see, she's not like other little girls, Doctor. She's quite…feral, like a wild animal. We fear that conventional methods of treatment are only exacerbating her deviant behaviors."_

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Sidney had heard many words used to describe troubled children over the course of his professional career. Delinquent, evil, iniquitous, vicious, and criminal were some of the words that had been thrown at him over the years. More often than not he found it was the caregiver who lacked the understanding to really see what was wrong in the child's world and thus resorted to attaching labels to their unorthodox behaviors. People tended to hold what they didn't understand at arm's length and he had a sneaking suspicion that was what was happening in this unfortunate case.

It was, however, the first time he had ever heard a child compared to a marauding beast. The look in the other man's eyes as he had spoken had given Sidney pause. There was much conviction in the man's voice. Never one to back down from a challenge, Sidney had been intrigued by the prospect of unraveling such a difficult case and so pursued the matter as any ambitious, young professional would have.

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_"Is there any incidence of mental or emotional disorders in her family? It would be of great help if I could speak with her parents about any past behavioral issues they've had with her and obtain a complete medical history from her family physician."_

_"We have very extensive medical records on the subject, both physiological and psychological. As for speaking with her parents, that's quite impossible, Doctor. Her mother was a Colonial Marine officer. She killed herself about five months after she was born. She shot herself with her service revolver. The doctors believe she may have suffered a psychotic breakdown resulting from untreated post-partum depression. Her father has never been involved in her upbringing and is quite unaware of her existence. It really is probably in everyone's best interest for it to remain that way given the unique circumstances surrounding this particular case."_

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A dead mother and an absentee father who may or may not even know he had a child. Sidney had felt an empathetic pang in his gut as he had listened to the man from Weyland-Yutani give him an abridged rundown of the child's brief life. She had been more or less an orphan, or so Sidney had initially been led to believe. He could relate. He, himself had lost both of his parents at the tender age of nine to a house fire.

Sidney wasn't clear on the "unique circumstances" the Weyland-Yutani rep referred to but he understood all too well the harsh impact the lack of a loving, supportive family structure could have on a blossoming psyche. This child more than likely needed someone to bridge the gap left in her life, he decided. He made the only decision he could in good conscience and agreed to see the girl. What he had found when he had made his first visit to the Weyland-Yutani facility, however, had altered the course of his entire life and his entire sense of morality where science was concerned.

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_"She's five years old, Doctor. She'll be six in December." The research program coordinator had smiled at him as she had walked with him down the pristine, white hallway. 'Booker', her nametag had read. The sound of her stilettos tapping on the cold, linoleum floor echoed eerily down the empty corridor with every step she took as she led him toward his new patient. _

_She stopped abruptly in front of a heavy, steel door and spun around quickly to face him. "Lately she's taken to biting and clawing the staff assigned to care for her when she doesn't feel like cooperating with testing. She attacked one of our research assistants a couple weeks ago. The poor kid nearly lost an eye trying to draw some blood. Don't let her size fool you, Doctor Lueger. She's strong as a goddamn ox. You've been briefed on special precautions and safe handling procedures?"_

_Sidney had nodded, "Yes, but I don't think they'll be necessary. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."_

_Booker had rolled her eyes and snorted at his comment. "It's your funeral, Doc." She thrust a sealed manila envelope and a key card into his hands. "She's all yours."_

_Sidney had torn into the envelope as the woman turned to walk away. He had quickly scanned through the first couple pages. The information he was searching for was conspicuously absent. "Ms. Booker?"_

_"Yes?" Booker had paused at the sound of his voice and turned back toward him._

_"What is her name?"_

_The woman had merely shrugged her shoulders at his question. "She doesn't have one."_

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She didn't have a name. People had names. Pets had names. No one named science experiments. No, they only labeled them. Her label, HY-23C, was all anyone in the facility really needed to know about her for scientific purposes. Anything else was irrelevant to their research. She was a Human-Yautja hybrid, the 23rd attempt at making an embryo out of batch C. She had been the sole survivor of a captive breeding program Weyland Industries had quickly grown bored of when new opportunities to make money had reared their head.

Too valuable to simply dispose of in the incinerator, HY-23C had been basically shelved. She had been tucked away in a small corner of the facility for the last few years, to be used when the need arose and then forgotten about again until the next time they felt the inkling to poke and prod her. That was the long and short of it.

At least, it had been the long and short of it. Tragic events had sparked renewed interest in Weyland's earliest hybridization experiments in the name of military superiority. Giant leaps in technology in the last couple of years, mostly of Weyland-Yutani origin, had greatly advanced humanity's ability for space travel. In doing so, it had also greatly advanced humanity's chances of coming into contact with other alien races. It was an exciting prospect in the beginning.

Unfortunately, mankind's very first true interspecies contact had been between a fully armed Colonial Marine transport ship and a Yautja hunting vessel in deep space. With all the bravado of a newly space-faring species, the Marine transport had confronted the strange craft that had parked itself uncomfortably close to Earth in the nearby globular cluster of NGC 2419. To say that the encounter had ended badly for the Marines would have been an understatement.

Public outcry once the news of the slaughter had reached Earth had been immediate and intense. Families demanded justice for the slain. Citizens demanded protection from this once rumored and now confirmed otherworldly, alien threat. The military demanded a more efficient way of dealing with their new sworn enemy. The Yautja were stronger, faster, and more technologically advanced than the newly space faring human race. It was obvious from the first official skirmish that humans would really stand no chance against a full-fledged alien assault should it ever occur. It was a thought that frightened many and also one that was not so far from becoming a reality as humanity continued to expand their presence in the universe at an almost alarming rate regardless of the circumstances or the consequences.

Someone in the higher Marine ranks, a retired Lieutenant General by the name of Knox, had mentioned offhandedly that he had once been involved in a project some 20 years ago to combine human and Yautja DNA and how amazing it would be if there was some way to use what had been learned from those experiments to build superior soldiers. It had been the spark that had ignited a firestorm. The once forgotten lab specimen, HY-23C, through no fault of her own, found herself at the forefront of an interspecies conflict she had no hand in creating. All Dr. Lueger could do once the wheels had been set in motion was to sit back in misery and watch.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, if you'll give me your attention I'd be more than happy to begin introductions to the reason why you're all here today."

Dr. Lueger found his thoughts drawn back to the present as the voice of one of his colleagues, Dr. Erhard Hitzig, echoed through the large conference hall they had all congregated in. With a heavy sigh, Dr. Lueger crossed his arms across his chest and settled back in his chair as Dr. Hitzig stepped onto the small stage in the front of the room and made his way to the podium to address the crowd.

Unlike Sidney, Dr. Hitzig's interest in the project was much more cold and clinical. Erhard was a world renowned geneticist. As a scientist first and foremost, he was only concerned with what useful elements could be extracted from any situation. His involvement in the program that had given them HY-23C was no different. To that point, Sidney wasn't that fond of the other man. On the flipside, Dr. Hitzig wasn't that fond of Sidney either. Erhard found Sidney to be too visceral for his intellectual tastes. It suited Sidney fine. The less they had to interact with one another the better. Dr. Lueger had forced himself to come to this meeting for one reason and one reason only and it had nothing to do with his fellow scientist.

"I'm not sure how knowledgeable any of you are about Weyland Industry's early attempts at hybridization but I'm sure you'll find the end results to be quite intriguing." Dr. Hitzig, a portly, balding man in his mid-fifties, smiled pleasantly at the group as he began his presentation. "A bit of background is in order for those of you who are new to the Weyland-Yutani family, I'm sure. Is anyone here familiar with the events that occurred in Gunnison, Colorado in 2007?" Dr. Hitzig paused briefly as he surveyed the crowd for anyone with an answer.

"The U.S. military dropped a tactical nuke in order to purge a xenomorph infestation, if I recall correctly what I learned in my case studies." It was a pretty, young research scientist that had answered the inquiry. "The town was a total loss. There were no survivors on the ground."

Dr. Hitzig nodded, pleased. "You are partially correct, my dear. The initial xenomorph infestation is believed to have resulted from a botched excursion to Bouvetoya Island in Antarctica which ended in the crash of the alien space craft in Colorado near the town of Gunnison. Most of the information we have regarding the fate of the expedition in Bouvetoya was provided to us by the only surviving party member, Ms. Alexa Woods. She was interrogated quite thoroughly by Weyland's own investigators as to what transpired inside the pyramid they were sent to survey. Ms. Woods' account of what happened on Bouvetoya is eerily similar to the version of events provided by a Ms. Kelly O'Brien after the Gunnison incident. A tactical nuclear strike was indeed carried out to purge the immediate vicinity of the xenomorph threat before it could spread into neighboring areas. However, it wasn't a total loss."

The doctor turned and flipped on a projector. Pressing a button, an image of the decimated town replaced the Weyland-Yutani logo on the screen projected onto the wall behind him. "Hazmat and salvage crews were able to retrieve pieces of the downed alien space craft as well as a few other various pieces of their technology, some intact. We were also fortunate enough to locate a single survivor underneath the rubble of what had been the Gunnison Hospital."

"Specimen Y-001A." This time it was one of the military men that chimed in an answer.

"I see some of you have done your homework." Dr. Hitzig acknowledged the man with a nod of the head. "Yes, specimen Y-001A was found near death, buried under the debris at the hospital site alongside a deceased xenomorph specimen. The fact that anything living could withstand the magnitude of a direct nuclear blast, not to mention the high levels of radiation and the grievous injuries incurred from having an entire building collapse on top of them simply boggles the mind. Also, given the species' tendency to self-immolate in dire situations, you can imagine the excitement we felt at being able to capture one alive. Fortunately for us, the military strike had caught it off guard."

"Is it here?" An eager looking young man in a Weyland-Yutani lab jacket fidgeted nervously in the second row. "Can we see it, as well?"

Dr. Hitzig frowned, "Unfortunately, no. The subject's behavior became much too erratic to be safely housed in this complex. It was transported to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex for processing and preservation following a breach in containment that resulted in the deaths of seven Weyland-Yutani employees before it could be subdued with an elephant tranquilizer. We still aren't exactly sure how it was able to circumvent security and reach the upper levels of the compound. It's a shame really...such a fascinating specimen."

Sidney shifted uncomfortably in his seat while a collective gasp arose from the audience as they imagined what a rage-filled Yautja rampage probably entailed. It hadn't been pretty. He remembered the incident all too well for his liking. In fact, there were still nights when he woke up drenched in a cold sweat, his heart pounding, while he gasped for breath. The scene would replay over and over in feverish dreams. The creature's fearsome visage would be forever burned into his brain. Those intelligent amber eyes flashing in both rage and understanding as it realized the full extent of the experiments it had been subjected to…the end result a living, breathing extension of itself. It's deep, rasping voice would forever be echoing inside his mind.

Sidney felt at least somewhat responsible for what had happened. Had he not been so curious, so concerned and so desperate to solve the riddle that was his newest charge certain events may have never come to pass. Seven of his colleagues had to die for him to even begin to comprehend. Even so, he felt it had been worth it. His only regret was having the situation end the way it had. Those few precious moments he had been privileged enough to witness had given him such incite, such a new perspective on his patient that he would be forever grateful no matter what happened.

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_"Pauk-de ooman…"*_

_"Wait!" Enormous, taloned fingers tightened around his neck with inhuman strength. He felt himself lifted off of his feet even as he struggled to draw his next breath. With the life literally being squeezed from him, he was now seriously regretting his decision to sneak into the containment wing of the facility to satiate his curiosity. "Please…I…need…your…help." He had managed a quick intake of air before the hand crushing his windpipe tightened further. "The…experiments…they performed. There is…a child…"_

_The creature's head had tilted slightly in what appeared to be either interest or curiosity but an angry snarl had escaped its strange, mandibled mouth at the same time making deciphering the monster's emotional state difficult. Its long, banded locks had fallen over its shoulders as it tilted its head in the other direction, the rank insignia within them clacking together as they did so. "Miiiiine…"_

_"Yes!" Sidney wasn't sure if the creature had asked a question or stated a fact but he nodded his head in the affirmative as best he could with its hand gripping his neck like a vice. "Yes…she's yours!" The hand crushing his throat vanished instantaneously. He crashed to the floor in a tangled heap, drawing great gulps of precious oxygen into his greedy lungs. His relief at being released, however, was short-lived when the monster crouched before him, its chest heaving with barely restrained rage. _

_"Show…meee."_

_"Yes," Sidney's head still swam and dark spots danced before his eyes. "I'll take you to her."_

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"Excuse me, Dr. Hitzig?" An older, bespectacled female in the third row raised her hand. "If Y-001A is no longer a viable specimen, how will that affect the availability of genetic material for the proposed military hybridization program for special forces?"

"That is a very good question." Dr. Hitzig pushed his glasses up his nose with one finger. "Naturally, we had the foresight to preserve some of Y-001A's DNA prior to processing. Of course, we also have HY-23C which provides a wonderful genetic roadmap that can help us navigate the path between man and monster. HY-23C is itself, an amazing mash up of the two and quite viable."

"Doctor Hitzig?" A General by the name of Maddox sat front row center raised his hand. "There are also some concerns among those considering the feasibility of this program regarding the long term sustainability of hybrid stock given some of the problems that seem to crop up over time in other hybridized species."

Dr. Hitzig nodded in understanding. "That is a very valid concern, General. Hybrids, in general, are prone to certain health related issues. Oftentimes, they are sterile and have a much shorter life expectancy than their non-hybridized counterparts. Believe me when I say we have studied this issue as far as Human-Yautja hybrids are concerned in depth. Our extensive, continuing physical testing of HY-23C has yet to turn up any of the normal problems expected to be found in a hybridized animal. We have established that she is, in fact, fertile and healthy as a horse. The issues you seem to be concerned with that had been present in the other embryos we were working with in the same program are not present in HY-23C's genetic makeup."

Sidney shuddered in his seat at the images Dr. Hitzig's speak was conjuring in his mind. He had seen the other children in the genetics lab when he had first toured the facility. He refused to call them specimens which irritated many among the lab staff. It had turned his stomach and he had nearly vomited right in the middle of the lab floor as his eyes had drunk in the first sight of them. They had preserved them in large, glass specimen jars, suspended in vats of formaldehyde where they could be admired by those who created them. Null samples, they called them. Worthless lumps of flesh that now served no other purpose than the decorative. They had become novelties; conversation pieces to be gawked at and chuckled over when work in the lab became slow.

Sidney could still see their little faces when he closed his eyes, twisted and malformed as they were. Their empty, lifeless eyes stared blankly out at nothing. Their tiny, clawed hands seemed to reach out for help from behind their glass barrier. From a purely medical standpoint, Sidney could look at them and tell immediately that as deformed as they were that they had stood no chance of survival outside the womb of whatever callous, unfeeling woman had volunteered to carry them to term. It was that moment that he realized no good could come from the situation. He could remember acutely the cold feeling of dread that settled into his chest as he gazed upon HY-23C's siblings and for the first time he began to really wonder what it was he had gotten himself involved in…and how he could possibly get himself out.

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_They had moved quickly down the empty corridors. Sidney had to practically jog to keep up with the monster's long strides. Most of the staff had already left for the evening which made it much easier to navigate around the security checkpoints. An annoyed growl from his new companion and a quick swipe of his employee badge had them both on the rear service elevator heading to the fourth floor where HY-23C was housed._

_Sidney shuffled nervously from foot to foot. He was at a loss. He had impulsively released the creature from its confinement and now he was unsure of what he was supposed to do next. He hadn't thought this far ahead and the hard, cold stare the Yautja was giving him scared him, frankly. The oppressive silence that now hung between them made him nervous. He tried to think of something to say that wouldn't result in having his head immediately separated from his body. There was only one subject that came to his mind that they had a common interest in. _

"_She…she's a really great kid. She just turned six years old a couple months ago." Sidney chuckled nervously. "I bought her a teddy bear and some puzzles for her birthday. She loves puzzles. She's very advanced for her age, you know. She's very smart…" _

_A strange, inhuman clicking began to emanate from the creature beside him and Sidney's voice trailed off into nothingness. Unnerved by the way it now looked at him; the doctor decided that silence was preferable. When the elevator reached their destination, much slower than he thought possible, Sidney evacuated the car eagerly. He was grateful to put some space between himself and the captive Yautja. He immediately headed left down the hallway, beckoning for the alien to follow. "They keep her down here."_

_A feeling of déjà vu had settled over Sidney when they stopped in front of the heavy steel door that separated them from the girl. He swallowed thickly and dared a glance up to address the hulking Yautja that waited next to him impatiently. "This is her room. They keep her locked in here when they aren't using her in the lab."_

_A deep growl rumbled out of the alien's chest. "Open…"_

_Sidney nodded. With trembling hands, he keyed in his access code. The door gave a slight hum and a click was heard as the heavy duty lock disengaged. He reached to pull the door open but hesitated, instead turning toward the anxious Yautja, suddenly fearful. "You…you aren't going to hurt her, are you? She's just…she's just a baby…"_

_The Yautja seemed to bristle in anger. "H'ko*…no hurt." The large alien inclined his head toward the door once again. "H'ka-se*…open."_

_Sidney let go of the breath he didn't even know he had been holding and reached again for the door handle. No sooner had he opened the door far enough to step through, he found himself roughly knocked aside. The air left his lungs in a giant 'whoosh' as he slammed into the opposite wall. The Yautja, heedless of his cries to wait, crossed over the threshold and into the room. _

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Dr. Hitzig nodded to a man sitting along the aisle. "Colonel Jacobs, I believe you had a question?"

"Yes, doctor, I did. I'd like to know what exactly can be expected to result from this type of crossbreeding program. What sort of benefits have you seen in your experimentation that would make it worth our time to examine this as a feasible military program?"

Dr. Hitzig chuckled. "Well, Colonel Jacobs, here shortly you'll be able to see for yourself the results of this program and I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. The benefits are many if we are speaking in the context of force superiority. Remember, we have had one-on-one experience in the handling of a Yautja specimen and I can tell you, it is no walk in the park. Even in a highly sedated state with several handlers, our specimen was quite volatile and dangerous. From our observations, and I'm sure you would agree, it's quite unrealistic believe a human alone could gain the upper hand in a face to face combat situation without some sort of physical advantage."

Dr. Hitzig turned back to his projector and brought up a chart and graph. "You'll see here a comparison of our two species based on our study of Y-001A. This comparison is going on the assumption that our specimen was typical of its species and all of our research suggests that it was. Therefore, it is our estimation that a Yautja's body mass is made up of 85 to 90 percent muscle and very little actual body fat. Their strength is enormous compared to the average adult human male. There reflexes are also much quicker. Their bones are much denser than ours, as well. In a controlled test environment, our subject it was able to leap from heights measuring 20 meters without incurring injury. Hearing and sense of smell also seem to be much more acute than in our species."

Dr. Hitzig hit the projector control button and the Weyland-Yutani logo one again dominated the back wall. "I could go on and on but the important thing here is that HY-23C has inherited these traits herself from her sire. You have all of the things that make a Yautja superior to a human: strength, stamina, agility and endurance together in a much easier to manage package. Imagine the strategic possibilities with the proper controls and handling put in place…"

Sidney zoned out again. He refused to listen anymore as Dr. Hitzig continued to ramble on, touting HY-23C's attributes like a sleazy used car salesman trying to push his wares off onto an unsuspecting mark. It wasn't far from the truth. These people had gathered today to hear a sales pitch and Dr. Hitzig was giving them one. They had all come with the intention of hopefully purchasing a weapon with the intent to rid the Universe of some otherworldly, alien threat and Sidney had a sinking feeling in his gut that told him that they would walk out with what they came for.

XXXXXXXXXX

_She had been lying in the middle of the floor, the new coloring books and crayons that Sidney had purchased for her the day before at a local department store spread around her, when the door had been ripped open and the Yautja had stepped inside her room. Her honey colored eyes locked immediately onto his amber ones, her body tensing as she quickly assessed this new situation. The purple crayon she had been using slipped from between her fingers and she quickly rose up onto her haunches. _

_A warning growl, one that frequently sent phlebotomists and research assistants scampering from her small sanctuary, escaped from between her sharp, tightly clenched teeth. The low, amused rumbling she received in return from the male startled her slightly. Instead of retreating the way he had come, he stepped further into her abode. The Yautja huffed, his broad chest expanding as he took in a deep breath. Seeming satisfied by whatever he had scented, he crouched before her a few feet away, a calming purr filling the air around him. _

_She blinked in confusion. Of all the test scenarios she had been forced to participate in, she couldn't recall any like this. Unsure if this was another experiment of some kind, she too carefully scented the air, her nostrils twitching, for any sign of the white-coated enemy that roamed the halls. Nothing met her nose except for the clean, earthy scent of the strange being before her and another more familiar smell tinged with something she had come to decipher as fear._

"_Dr. Sidney?" Her voice, although soft and girlish in its youthfulness, possessed a slight underlying rasp; the result of an extra set of vocal organs that provided her with the ability, not only of spoken speech, but to produce sounds ranging from soft, contented purrs and curious-sounding clicks to bone-rattling growls and savage roars._

"_It's alright, sweetheart," Sidney still wheezed from having the air knocked from his lungs but he had recovered enough to pull himself through the open doorway. He eyed the kneeling Yautja cautiously. "He isn't going to hurt you. He's…your father."_

_HY23C's eyes snapped back to the crouched male. Her eyes narrowed into yellow slits as she surveyed him more closely. They had spoken about this briefly, her and the doctor. He had done his best to explain her situation to her as best as he understood it to be shortly after he had taken her on as his patient. It was more than anyone else had done for her in this frightening place._

_She had always known that she had been different. She didn't look like the people around her. She didn't sound like the people around her. She didn't think like the people around her. It was something that very much perplexed her even at her young age. Thanks to Dr. Sidney, as she called him, she had come to understand that she was what the scientists called a hybrid. _

_She had learned from the doctor that her mother had been a human, like the researchers that inhabited the building. All she knew of humans up until she met Dr. Sidney was that they liked to hurt. Every encounter she had with them had left her in some kind of pain. She had no use for any of them, except for Dr. Sidney who gave her no indication of being cruel and sadistic like the others. _

_Still, the thing that really piqued her curiosity was her father. She knew he wasn't human, that much was obvious every time she dared to look into a mirror. Unfortunately, the doctor had more questions regarding that aspect of her creation than he had answers. The only information he had been able to provide her with was that her father was of a species the scientists referred to as Yautja. Dr. Sidney had left her the evening of their conversation with a promise to find the answers to some of the questions she had. It was as much for the sake of his curiosity as it was hers, she knew. The doctor had lived up to his word as she now found those answers staring her, quite literally, in the face. _

_The Yautja was extremely tall compared to the humans she was used to being around. Broad shouldered and lean muscled; she could see the easy strength coiled in him even in the relaxed pose he held. His pebbled skin appeared to be a light mottled yellowish-brown under the harsh overhead florescent lights. His face was what had drawn her in, however. His eyes were set deep beneath a heavy brow that led to a high forehead. Thick, black, banded locks fell over his shoulders, clattering together when he shifted his head. One of his eyes was vibrant amber; the other was covered in an opaque film, a sign of blindness in that eye. In fact, the entire left side of his face was marred by a sickly green chemical burn that he somehow managed to make look distinguished. His mouth was a sight in itself to behold in itself. A smaller, fanged, inner mouth was surrounded by what should have been four mandibles. His left upper mandible had obviously also succumbed to whatever it was that had destroyed his eye. She stared openly in wonder. After trying to conjure up a possible image of her father in her imagination on many occasions, she realized that she hadn't even come close to doing him justice. She found him fascinating to say the least. _

_The Yautja gazed back at the child just as intently. "What is name?"_

"_I…" Sidney faltered for a moment. Dare he share with this creature that his child had been deprived of even the most basic form of identity? How would this so-called 'monster' feel knowing that his progeny had been reduced to a labeled specimen in a laboratory when Sidney found himself revolted by the idea. No, she had deserved better than that. She deserved a name of her own at the very least. Sidney had given her one that first day upon learning that she had none. It was a name he would have given his own daughter had he ever married and had one of his own. "I call her Cessie."_

"_Se'h-Sie…" The creature nodded his massive head, seemingly pleased with the way the name sounded. Reaching out toward the girl, he beckoned her closer, "Se'h-Sie, come."_

_The child looked to Dr. Lueger as if asking for permission. The doctor nodded, "It's okay…"_

_Was it really okay? Sidney had no idea. He watched with a feeling of trepidation as Cessie moved cautiously closer to the alien's extended hand. When she was no farther than a couple feet away, the Yautja moved with frightening speed. Before Sidney could even register the youngster's surprised squeal, the creature had shackled her around the upper arm, hauling her roughly into the space between his bent knees. The alien's other hand had come up to grasp the child's face beneath her chin._

"_Hey! Let her go!" Alarmed, Sidney stepped toward the pair. Not sure of what he intended to do to stop the situation but unwilling to stand idly by and watch the child he had grown to care so much for and promised to look after meet a grisly end, he moved to pull the creature away from her. Instead, he found himself on the receiving end of a blood curdling roar that had him slinking back up against the wall and sinking to the floor. Mandibles fully spread; the Yautja seemed to dare him to come closer. Sidney could only whimper, "You said you wouldn't hurt her…please…"_

_The Yautja's eyes flashed accusingly, "Ell-osde*…you hurt!" _

"_No…" Sidney shook his head in confusion. "No…I haven't hurt her."_

_The alien snarled, taking the child's small hand in his own large one and turning her arm for Sidney to see the ugly needle marks that marred the lightly dappled skin on the inside of her elbow. "You…test. Take thwei*…blood…hurt. Experiment…" _

"_No…" Sidney could only shake his head weakly in protest as the last word hissed venomously out from between the creature's mandibles. The deathly cold glare he was receiving from the enraged alien cause his skin to break out in goose flesh even as nervous sweat began to bead on his forehead. "I haven't taken her…her…blood. It…it was the others. They run…they run the experiments. I'm not involved. I-I haven't hurt her…I wouldn't…"_

"_Ki'cte!"*_

_Sidney's mouth snapped shut with an audible 'clack'. At that moment, he felt that death was an almost certainty. Could he really blame the Yautja? He tried to put himself in the other's place. How would he feel were the positions reversed? He decided that the alien was handling the situation a lot better than he ever could have. _

_The Yautja continued to stare the human down for another moment, a low growl sounding from deep inside his chest daring him to say another word, before turning back to the girl. She whimpered slightly as he tried to reel her in closer to himself, locking her knees in defiance and trying to twist free of his grasp. The child's wide eyes flitted between his face and that of the doctor cowering in the corner of the room. He could smell her fright for the human hanging in the air between them. She needed reassurance before she would willingly come to him. He purred soothingly, lowering his voice to a more pleasant rumble, "Come, Se'h-Sie…m-di h'chack*."Another gentle tug and the girl shuffled hesitantly closer until only inches separated them. The Yautja nodded, pleased. "Good, Se'h-Sie." _

_He took the opportunity to look her over carefully now that he had her so close. His good eye roved over her slight form, missing nothing. He had sired many, many pups throughout his life and he was quite proud of his lineage. He counted many highly distinguished hunters and prestigious warriors among his offspring. Many of his daughters were also held in high regard and greatly sought after by males as potential mates. The small, humanoid female before him was absolutely nothing like the others that called him father._

_She was decidedly more human-looking than not, something that was more than likely attributable to deliberate design rather than random genetics. At six seasons old, she was small for her age. The high, crested forehead and mandibles that gave his species its easily identifiable profile were absent as were the thick tendrils that passed as hair for his kind. Instead, she possessed the humans' soft-lipped mouth and a head full of dark, shoulder-length tresses. A small, upturned nose sat in the middle of her face, the bridge nearly flat. Her high, chiseled cheek bones and prominent chin only hinted at the possibility of a Yautjan heritage. _

_It was a shame, really. Had she mandibles at least she may have been considered decent-looking by his kind with her olive-toned, lightly mottled skin. Though her face may not have been as aesthetically pleasing as his other pups, her eyes stirred some sort of familial recognition inside of him. The clear, honey-colored orbs shined with uncertainty and perhaps even a hint of fear but that was beside the point. Small flecks of orange scattered throughout the iris caught the overhead lights and glinted brightly like tiny flashes of fire. She had his mother's eyes. _

_With a trill of nostalgic recognition, his eyes left her face and traveled down the slender column of her unprotected neck. The sharpness of her bones jutting from beneath the simple, ooman dress she wore and the hollowness of her cheeks suggested that she wasn't being adequately fed for a child of Yautja lineage. His eyes traveled down thin, wiry arms and long, delicate fingers. Talons, meant to be used not only to aid in climbing but as a weapon of last resort, had been ground down uselessly to the very quick rendering her defenseless in her current state. Long, skinny legs led to bare feet that had also been mutilated. Talons had been filed down to useless nubs and where dew claws should have been there were scars where they had been surgically removed. It was…barbaric; the state she was being kept in an insult to her very nature._

_The Yautja's head whipped back around toward Sidney. The doctor whimpered. The intensity in the alien's eyes did not bode well and judging from the strange, inarticulate sounds it made while taking inventory of Cessie, it was not pleased with what it had seen. Gathering courage, Sidney managed to scramble to his feet at the same time the Yautja rose from his crouched position._

_Sidney shook his head helplessly as the alien drew closer to him, dragging the child along behind him. The doctor's eyes flitted between the two of them. "C-Cessie…I-I'm sorry…" His eyes focused on the Yautja, his voice tinged with desperation now. "I'm sorry!"_

_Head tilted, the large monster surveyed the smaller man for a moment. It would be so very easy to separate his head from his shoulders. One well-placed swipe of his bare hand would have done the trick but he was all too aware of the child's eyes taking in the situation. For whatever reason, Se'h-Sie felt some sort of bond with this particular ooman. The ooman obviously felt some sort of reciprocal affection. The ooman was lucky. Many would die this day. He would not. _

XXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Lueger didn't remember rising from his seat or sluggishly following the others as they moved en masse from the conference center to the viewing room down the hall. He was a bit startled when he found himself with the rest of the group as they gathered around the thick, ballistic glass partition, crowding each other to get the best view of the curiosity soon to be on display.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the pièce de résistance." Dr. Erhard grinned from ear to ear as he motioned for one of the research techs to bring in his prized experiment.

"Cessie…" Sidney's heart dropped at the sight unfolding before him. As he looked on, that foreboding feeling of dread he felt in his gut grew tenfold.

To be continued…

**Whew! That took a lot out of me! I know it kind of stops short at the end but that is intentional. I hope that it was up to everyone's standards. There will be more "Daddy" flashbacks and more details into how Cessie is "kept" in the next chapter. If you feel so inclined, a review would be much appreciated! Hugs!**

**Translation Guide**

*** "S'yuit-de ooman…"- "Fucking human…"**

*** "H'ko…"- "No…"**

*** "H'ka-se…"- "Now…"**

*** "Ell-osde…"- "You…"**

*** "Thwei…"- "Blood…"**

*** "Ki'cte…"- "Enough…"**

*** "Come Se'h-Sie…m-di h'chack…"- "Come Cessie…no fear…"**

*** Oomans- Humans**


End file.
